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Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Hungarian GP Preview - Caterham

The Hungaroring is laterally demanding but as there are a lot of medium-slow speed corners, traction is also very important

Minimum corner speed is around 80 km/h

Overtaking is very difficult

Maximising pace through Sector 2 is important for lap time

The track is generally bumpy (T5 especially) but there are no major issues

Kerbs are significant in T6 and T7

The track can be very dusty if it is windy, which can present issues in determining setup options

Circuit Particularity

Bumpiness: medium / high

Overtaking chance: low

Kerbs: high in T6 and T7

Ride height setting particularity: none

Engine severity: low

Gearbox severity: high

Lat/Long grip: medium

Aero eff ratio: low

Safety car history: 2012 – none, 2011 – none, 2010 – 1 (laps 15-17)

Track grip evo during w/e: high

Aero settings: very high (maximum)

Brake wear severity: medium / high

Brake cooling necessity: high

Driver Quotes

Giedo van der Garde: “Hungary’s the last race before the summer break, and another chance for us to keep up the momentum we picked back up in Germany. The Hungaroring is a track I’ve always gone well at – I’ve won races and had podiums there in GP2 and World Series and now, in F1, it’s tight, twisty and a relatively short lap so it’s a bit like Monaco [but] without the barriers!

“We obviously had our best quali result of the year so far in Monaco and while I doubt the weather will play its part in Hungary as it did on Saturday in Monaco, the track layout and characteristics are still kind of similar and the length of the lap and the reduced reliance on pure aero performance may help us edge closer to the cars ahead.

“We will continue the aggressive development plan started in Bahrain and have updates again for Hungary and that’ll help us, particularly on Sunday. That’s the goal for this weekend – have a clean Friday to set us up for both quali and the race, and then see if we can use what we’ve learned at the Silverstone test to fight on Sunday afternoon.”

Charles Pic: “Straight after the Silverstone test we all go to Hungary for race ten. Like my teammate I’ve always gone well at the Hungaroring and I like the whole place. The city’s beautiful, the track is a good challenge, particularly sector two which you need to get right and find the right rhythm and then you can gain a lot of time, and it’s nearly always hot there so physical fitness also plays its part.

“It’ll be another busy week for the team, coming straight from Silverstone to Hungary, but after that they have a very well deserved rest and a chance to recharge the batteries. For me, I’m at an event with our partner GE on Wednesday, something we’ve done at a few races this year, and then it’s 100% on the race weekend. After the test last week we’re as prepared as we can be and if we can pick up where we left off in Germany before we had the puncture, I think we can have a good weekend. I think, from what we learned from Silverstone, the revised tyres should suit us as they behaved consistently over both long and short runs, and the deg levels were more manageable than the compounds we’ve been using so far this season. ”